I met my husband 12 years ago at our private college while in our junior year. We got married with $50,000 in student loans with the vision to slay that giant as quickly as possible. We landed our first jobs out of college, had our first baby, and bought our first home. Then a wrench was thrown into our financial plan when I lost my job during the economy crash and I was unable to find another job in my field that would be enough to pay for daycare and contribute to our debt giant. And so it sat there, over our heads and I will tell you that I felt defeated. I remember thinking how impossible it felt to get ahead and then save for our dream (a farmette in the country).

Consumer debt in our nation is at an all time high. Too many times I have heard stories of people that feel defeated under a piles of college, credit card, car, mortgage and more as people feel pressure to keep up and provide their families with an abundant life. People embrace the lie that you HAVE to go into debt to build good credit (so that you can go into more debt!) and get the opportunities to get ahead in life.

Before joining Norwex and starting my own business from home, I was a hostess, getting ready to host a Norwex party to learn more about it and get some things for my home. In my hosting materials, there was a sheet titled “Dare to Dream – The Sky is the Limit” and it talked about income. We were living paycheck to paycheck at the time. I desperately wanted to earn income for my family BUT I also wanted to stay home with my kids. So with a leap of faith, I decided to try the opportunity. At first it brought in some “fun” money for home improvement, food, Starbucks, clothes, and trips. As things grew one party at a time, full-time income began to come in and our debt was slain faster than I could have imagined.

We are in a season of saving. For our Dream Farm. With huge stretch goals to save enough to build in three years, I am fired up to know that there are options out there to become free from a mountain of loans and build a financial legacy for generations to come. Don’t put your dreams on hold and let the excuses of today cloud out an abundant future. You are worth it. Give yourself permission to get “unstuck” and decide that life you choose to life. There will be a season to saying “no” to a vacation or going out to eat but in the long run, you will be glad that you did.

Norwex’s BacLock technology is so interesting, yet many people don’t quite understand just what is going on behind the scenes (or threads) of their Norwex cloths & towels! There are two compounds that allow Norwex cloths to work the way they do.

FIRST – the MICROFIBER!!! Not just any microfiber that you can buy from your local superstore. Imagine using a ball of plastic to wipe down your countertops. That is basically what using any cotton cloth is equivalent to, because cotton has not been through the splitting process. This means it is not nearly as absorbent, or able to grab and hold as sufficiently, as microfiber. Now imagine looking at your Norwex cloth through a microscope. The fibers look like miniature windmills, each with splits able to swipe and scoop and HOLD ON TO bacteria! Norwex microfiber is 1/200th the size of human hair and the EnviroCloth contains more than 3 million meters of fiber. That blows my mind!

SECOND – Norwex’s BacLock feature! Most people are confused as to how the silver is working to clean their Norwex cloths/towels. The silver does NOT kill bacteria, it DEACTIVATES bacteria – quite the interesting process! How does this happen, you may ask? Just like this:

Breakdown of a cell’s life supporting functions by inhibiting the transmembrane transport, thereby starving the bacterium

Inactivation of intracellular enzymes that“digest the food”

Damage the bacterium cell’s DNA so that it cannot reproduce

So all the bacteria that your microfibers just grabbed up and held onto are introduced to the silver ions, and then deactivated!

Norwex even hired a 3rd party lab to test product effectiveness and they found that Norwex cloths removed 99% of bacteria from surfaces. They also found that cross-contamination does not occur when wiping multiple surfaces, because your cloth literally holds on to all the bacteria until you wash it! If you have any questions about the science behind your cloths, feel free to reach out to me! I’d love to help you find answers.

What is it? A colorless gas with a very recognizable odor. It is known as a building block chemical and is used in many common household cleaners used every day.

Where is it found? Polishing agents, like you would use for bathroom fixtures, sinks, and jewelry. Also found in glass & window cleaner.

Why should I avoid it? Have you ever wondered why your common bathroom and window cleaner don’t leave any streaks after you’ve cleaned? It’s because ammonia is an ingredient – and it evaporates, making streaks vanish. While most of us love the thought of streak-less bathrooms and windows, it comes at a cost. After ammonia evaporates, guess where it goes? Right into the air you’re breathing! “Ammonia is a powerful irritant,” says Donna Kasuska, chemical engineer and president of ChemConscious, Inc., a risk-management consulting company. “It’s going to affect you right away. The people who will be really affected are those who have asthma, and elderly people with lung issues and breathing problems. It’s almost always inhaled. People who get a lot of ammonia exposure, like housekeepers, will often develop chronic bronchitis and asthma.” Ammonia is definitely not something you want to be breathing is every time you clean your bathroom or windows.

Safer Alternatives – The Window Cloth! One of my favorite products because it leaves NO STREAKS, with NO CHEMICALS! Seriously guys, I am constantly blown away by how wonderful of a job this cloth does on windows and polishing! The first time I used it years ago, I was skeptical and definitely expected a few streaks to be left behind, but it truly leaves nothing behind except a beautiful, clear window!

Low air quality stinks! Not only might it actually be smelly, but it can also have negative effects on our health, mood, and more. In fact, poor air quality in homes has been linked to fatigue, asthma, and even lung disease. Despite what we may assume, outdoor air pollution usually isn’t the biggest offender. Indoor air has been shown to be 2-5 times as contaminated as outdoor air in some places. Household cleaners filled with chemicals, air fresheners, scents and paraffin filled candles can further pollute indoor air and contribute to poor indoor air quality. If you experience allergy symptoms, your home air quality could be the cause. Stale indoor air increases the amount of allergens floating around our homes – we’re talking pet dander, dust mites, and mold spores, yuck! Luckily there are many easy and delightful ways to defeat this problem!

Beeswax Candles –Creating a welcoming and warm ambiance isn’t the only thing these guys are good at! As they burn, these candles release negative ions – making them air purifiers. Dust, dirt, pollen, dander, and all the other junk that can be in our air has a positive charge. As beeswax candles burn and release negative ions, those negative ions bind with the positive charged toxins and help remove them from the air. Such a cool process! Our family had a great time hand-pouring our own beeswax candles and placing them all over the house recently, a fun afternoon activity that anyone can do!

House plants – In the late 80s, NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America studied houseplants as a way to purify the air in space facilities. They found several plants that filter out common volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are emitted from certain liquids and solids found in our homes. Here is a list of some of my favorite house-plants that have been proven to purify air:

Snake plant – This plant is one of the best for filtering out formaldehyde, which is common in cleaning products, toilet paper, tissues and personal care products.

Boston Fern- Easy to grow, good at filtering the air, hard to kill!

Bamboo palm – this small palm thrives indoors, even in the shade! It tops the list of plants best for filtering out both benzene and trichloroethylene. They’re also a good choice for placing around furniture that could be emitting formaldehyde.

English Ivy – so super easy to maintain even if you don’t have a green thumb! Provides additional oxygen while filtering out toxins.

Salt Lamps – I won’t be too repetitive because salt lamps work the same way as beeswax candles, just another great option for improving air quality! They are so soothing and relaxing, and have other benefits such as improving sleep and boosting levels of serotonin in the brain.

Last but not least – OPEN YOUR WINDOWS! Even if just for a few minutes, even in the colder months, this simple act can really work wonders for getting fresh air flowing and flushing out toxins!

What is it? QUATS are powerful disinfectant chemicals that are designed to kill germs. Usually these products claim to be antibacterial because they are certified by the EPA as pesticides.

Where is it found? Disinfectant wipes, sprays, disinfectant products that claim to kill germs, fabric softener liquid and sheets

Why should I avoid it? Unless you plan on doing a major surgery operation on your countertop, chances are it does not need to be wiped down with an antibacterial wipe containing QUATs. That would be like trying to kill a fruit fly with a cannonball – if you aimed well, it would totally kill it, but it’s also going to DESTROY whatever else it hits! While they do have the power to clean and sterilize things such as E. Coli & Staph, it comes with great risks to your health. Proving that these antibacterial products are overkill is the fact there is NOT ONE study claiming that those products sterilize any better than soap and warm water. QUATS are lung irritants that can lead to asthma and other breathing problems. They’re also skin irritants and can cause rashes when touched with bare skin. Did you know antibacterial wipes instruct the user to WASH THEIR HANDS after using?! Which kind of seems to defeat the purpose people are using them for in the first place. Craziness! QUATS linger around surfaces long after cleaning, and even contaminate food if it touches those surfaces – even days and weeks after the original wipe down.

Safer Alternatives – Say hello to the “everything” cloth!!! Norwex’s best selling EnviroCloth can take the place of the chemical-ridden antibacterial wipes. Norwex BackLoc contains silver in the microfiber, which makes it an antibacterial germ deactivator!

I am Melissa Lange - wife, mom of six, homeschooler, backyard farmer, and Norwex VP Sales Leader. Get a glimpse into my everyday life and how we do Norwex around here one post at a time. My Story (in a nutshell).

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